The smartphone trade is in fixed movement, formed by the most recent know-how launches, shifting provide chains, and a mixture of international financial elements. These adjustments don’t simply influence new system gross sales, they’ve a direct impact on the thriving secondary market, the place demand for inexpensive and high-quality pre-owned gadgets is rising quickly.
On this B-Inventory Q&A, we join with Joe Dube, Director of Cell Accounts, to get his perspective on the present panorama of the pre-owned cellular market, what traits he anticipates within the yr forward, and a few private insights from his journey within the trade.
When you needed to sum up in a single phrase, how would you describe the present state of the pre-owned cellular market proper? Why?
Maturing.
The pre-owned cellular market is coming into a brand new section of sophistication and scale. Stakeholders now acknowledge the immense alternative within the secondary market, and we’re seeing fast developments in how gadgets are sourced, assessed, and offered. Commerce-in applications are extra strong than ever, grading and triage processes have develop into more and more exact and environment friendly, because of improvements like AI-powered diagnostics and automatic inspection techniques, and carriers and OEMs are leveraging information and analytics to optimize pricing and channel technique, maximizing restoration and minimizing danger.
This maturation is clear throughout the availability chain: from improved refurbishment requirements and client belief in pre-owned gadgets, to the rise of licensed applications and higher give attention to sustainability. The market isn’t just growing-it’s evolving, with each hyperlink within the provide chain turning into extra analytical, technology-driven, and targeted on extracting the best attainable worth.
Any information factors or traits take you without warning in Q1?
Probably the most vital development in Q1 was a return to market normalcy. We noticed customary month-to-month depreciation charges within the 2–4% vary, with no main pricing swings or surprising shifts. In distinction to final yr, when the market noticed unusually robust pricing and fewer depreciation, significantly over the summer season months, in Q1 pricing adopted a extra typical sample of gradual depreciation, reflecting a extra steady setting.
What can be your primary piece of recommendation/or message for OEMs and carriers proper now?
My high piece of recommendation for OEMs and carriers is to take a really end-to-end strategy to the secondary market. It’s not nearly offloading pre-owned devices-it’s about understanding and optimizing each step of the method. Partnering with the precise consultants at every stage is crucial; the standard of your companions straight impacts the worth you possibly can recuperate, your model status, and your means to scale sustainably. By investing in robust, data-driven partnerships, you’ll maximize the lifetime worth of your gadgets and place your group for long-term success.
You had been not too long ago the recipient of a “Execs to Know” award. Do you might have any ideas you’d wish to share?
I used to be actually honored to be acknowledged as a 2025 Professional to Know. The award displays the revolutionary, data-driven strategy B-Inventory brings to the cellular secondary market and the resale ecosystem. With the pre-owned cellular market outpacing the expansion of the first market, and with developments in trade-in and resale applied sciences, we’re uniquely positioned to assist wi-fi carriers and OEMs maximize worth and lengthen system lifecycles. We allow our companions to navigate a quickly maturing market and unlock new alternatives for tens of thousands and thousands of pre-owned gadgets.
What would you say to your youthful self simply getting began on this trade?
I’d inform myself that no person has all of it figured out-even the most important of corporations aren’t all the time absolutely optimized. There’s all the time room to enhance, study, and develop. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t simply accept realizing how issues are done- dig a bit of deeper to grasp the why. That curiosity will allow you to see alternatives others would possibly miss and make an actual distinction as you develop in your profession.
Trying forward, in case you needed to record your high 5 ‘issues to observe for’ as an trade in 2025, what would they be?
Trying forward, I believe there are a number of key traits set to form the pre-owned cellular market. First, the influence of latest and proposed tariffs on imported electronics might considerably elevate costs for lower-grade gadgets and parts, significantly these coming from main commerce companions like China. This might speed up a shift towards extra home refurbishment and restore operations within the U.S., as corporations search for methods to regulate prices and decrease provide chain disruptions. If tariffs do drive up costs for brand spanking new and imported gadgets, we are able to anticipate to see elevated demand for restore companies and a renewed give attention to getting essentially the most worth out of gadgets already in circulation.
On the identical time, the adoption of robotics and AI is remodeling how gadgets are processed, triaged, and graded. Automated techniques are making evaluations quicker, extra constant, and extra exact, which helps enhance each effectivity and restoration charges. This development is more likely to proceed, with robotics taking part in a much bigger function in each stage of the secondary market, from consumption to refurbishment.
We’re additionally seeing the trade transfer past fundamental “buff and polish” beauty fixes. There’s now a a lot higher emphasis on substantial repairs and complete refurbishment, pushed by each client expectations and sustainability targets. Consumers need high quality and affordability, and sellers are responding with increased refurbishment requirements and authorized applications that construct belief and command higher costs.
Authentic gear producers, or OEMs, are additionally taking a extra energetic function within the secondary market. They’re investing extra in trade-in applications, grading requirements, and resale channels, and by managing extra of the method themselves, they’re in a position to maximize the residual worth of their merchandise. That is all a part of the broader trade maturation, as everybody concerned turns into extra analytical and strategic about extracting worth at each step.
And, lastly, client demand for pre-owned and refurbished gadgets continues to rise, fueled by environmental considerations and the rising price of latest gadgets. Because the market grows, we’ll see much more innovation in round financial system fashions, with corporations making recommerce a core a part of their sustainability technique.
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For a better take a look at our most up-to-date cellular secondary market pricing information and traits of particular top-performing fashions over Q1 2025, view our newest version of the B-Inventory Cell Insider.
